The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , HAZU) is the

national academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, and serves as a public policy advisors, research ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. HAZU was founded under the patronage of the Croatian bishop

Josip Juraj Strossmayer Josip Juraj Strossmayer, also Štrosmajer (; ; 4 February 1815 – 8 April 1905) was a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church, politician and benefactor (law), benefactor. Between 1849 and his death, he served as the Bishop of Đakovo, Bishop ...

under the name Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (, JAZU) since its founder wanted to make it the central scientific and artistic institution of all

South Slavs South Slavs are Slavic people who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...

. Today, its main goals are encouraging and organizing scientific work, applying the achieved results, developing of artistic and cultural activities, carrying about the Croatian cultural heritage and its affirmation in the world, publishing the results of scientific research and artistic creativity and giving suggestions and opinions for the advancement of science and art in areas of particular importance to Croatia. The academy is divided into nine classes; social sciences, mathematical, physical and chemical sciences, natural sciences, medical sciences, philological sciences, Literature, Fine Arts, Musical Arts and Musicology, technical sciences. The academy started in 1866 with 16 full members which grew to today's 160. Besides full, members can also be honorary, corresponding or associate.

History

The institution was founded in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

on 29 April 1861 by the decision of the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...

( Sabor) as the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts. The bishop and benefactor

, a prominent advocate of higher

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

during the 19th century Croatian national romanticism, set up a trust fund for this purpose and in 1860 submitted a large donation to the then viceroy ( ban) of Croatia Josip Šokčević for the cause of being able to After some years of deliberations by the

and the emperor

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

, it was finally sanctioned by

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

in 1866. The official sponsor was Josip Juraj Strossmayer, while the first chairman of the academy was the distinguished Croatian

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

Franjo Rački. Serbian linguist Đuro Daničić was elected secretary general of the academy, where he played a key role in preparing the academy's dictionary, the ''Croatian or Serbian Dictionary of JAZU''. The academy's creation was the logical extension of the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

, the institution initially created in 1669 and also renewed by bishop Strossmayer in 1874. Bishop Strossmayer also initiated the building of the Academy Palace in the Zrinjevac park of Zagreb, and the Palace was completed in 1880. In 1884, the palace also became a host of the Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters that contained 256 works of art (mostly paintings). The same is today one of the most prominent

art galleries An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...

in Zagreb. The academy started publishing the academic journal '' Rad'' in 1867. In 1882, each of the individual scientific classes of the academy started printing their own journals. In 1887, the academy published the first "Ljetopis" as a year book, as well as several other publications in

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

ethnology Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Sci ...

. Vatroslav Jagić, Baltazar Bogišić,

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...

, Mihailo Petrović, Dragutin Gorjanović-Kramberger, Andrija Mohorovičić, Ivan Meštrović, Lavoslav Ružička, Vladimir Prelog,

Ivo Andrić Ivo Andrić ( sr-Cyrl, Иво Андрић, ; born Ivan Andrić; 9 October 1892 – 13 March 1975) was a Yugoslav novelist, poet and short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1961. His writ ...

, Miroslav Krleža, Ivan Supek and

Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999) was a Croatian politician and historian who became the first president of Croatia, from 1990 until his death in 1999. He served following the Independence of Croatia, country's independe ...

were JAZU/HAZU members.

Name changes

The academy briefly changed name from "Yugoslav" to "Croatian" between 1941 and 1945 during the

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

client regime of the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

. It has again been renamed "Croatian" in 1991 after Croatia gained independence from Yugoslavia.

Departments

The academy is divided into nine departments (classes): * Department of Social Sciences * Department of Mathematical, Physical and Chemical Sciences * Department of Natural Sciences * Department of Medical Sciences * Department of Philological Sciences * Department of Literature * Department of Fine Arts * Department of Music and Musicology * Department of Technical Sciences

The Institute for Historical Sciences

One of the research units of the academy is the Institute for Historical Sciences. It is located in a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

villa in

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

, and holds a rich manuscript and library collection. Two peer-reviewed journals are published by the institute, which are fully available online: ''Anali'' in Croatian and ''

Dubrovnik Annals ''Dubrovnik Annals'' is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1997. It covers all aspects of the history and culture of Dubrovnik and the Dubrovnik Republic. It is published by the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts's Institu ...

'' in English.

The institute for Ornithology

The Institute for Ornithology houses the Croatian

bird ringing Bird ringing (UK) or bird banding (US) is the attachment of a small, individually numbered metal or plastic tag to the leg or wing of a wild bird to enable individual identification. This helps in keeping track of the movements of the bird an ...

scheme, and is a member of the European Union for Bird Ringing (EURING).

Membership

There are four classes of members: *Full members *Associate members *Honorary members *Corresponding members The number of full members and corresponding members is limited to 160 each, while the maximum number of associate members is 100. Number of full members per department is limited to 24. Only the full members may carry the title of " academician" (, (male members) or (female members)).

Chairmen

Criticism

The academy has been criticized to the effect that membership and activities are based on academic

cronyism Cronyism is a specific form of in-group favoritism, the spoils system practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. ...

and political favor rather than on scientific and artistic merit. In 2006 matters came to a head with the academy's refusal to induct Dr. Miroslav Radman, an accomplished

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

, a member of the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

, and an advocate of a higher degree of

meritocracy Meritocracy (''merit'', from Latin , and ''-cracy'', from Ancient Greek 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods or political power are vested in individual people based on ability and talent, rather than ...

and accountability in Croatian

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. His supporters within the academy and the media decried the decision as reinforcing a politically motivated, unproductive ''status quo''. Dr.

Ivo Banac Ivo Banac (; 1 March 1947 – 30 June 2020) was a Croatian-American historian, a professor of European history at Yale University and a politician of the former Liberal Party in Croatia, known as the Great Bard of Croatian historiography. , Bana ...

, a

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

professor and then a deputy in the

Croatian parliament The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...

, addressed the chamber in a speech decrying a "dictatorship of mediocrity" in the academy, while '' Globus'' columnist Boris Dežulović satirized the institution as an "academy of stupidity and obedience". Dr. Vladimir Paar and others defended the academy's decision, averring that it did take pains to include accomplished scientists but that, since Dr. Radman's work has mostly taken place outside Croatia, it was appropriate that he remain a corresponding rather than a full member of the academy."Dictatorship of Mediocrity" debate, ''Feral Tribune'', 2006
Banac speechPaar replyBanac response
Retrieved 2009-10-21 Nenad Ban, a distinguished molecular biologist from

ETH Zurich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

and a member of the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...

is only a corresponding member of HAZU. Ivan Đikić, a molecular biologist working at the

Goethe University Frankfurt Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...

, and also a member of Leopoldina since 2010, has not been able to join HAZU even as a corresponding member, despite being the most cited Croatian scientist, with more citations than the academy's 18-member Department of Medical Sciences combined. From 2005 to 2007, the Department of Philological Sciences at the academy released several declarations on the linguistic situation in Croatia, which were criticised for being nationalistically motivated rather than linguistically based. Despite pressure from members of the Department of Philological Sciences, one journal refused to stop publishing criticism. In May 2022, the academy published a document outlining conditions for Bosnia and Herzegovina's entry into the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, calling for a third Croat entity to be implemented in the country due to the rising challenges faced by Croats from "Serbian secessionist and Bosniak unitarist" policies. It also proposed conditions to be fulfilled by Serbia and Montenegro before they joined the EU. It has been criticized by analysts for its ethno-nationalist and political nature and has drawn comparisons to the controversial SANU memorandum.

Restitution of Nazi-looted art

In 2023 the museum restituted to the heirs of Dane Reichsmann artworks that had been looted, including André Derain's “Still Life With a Bottle” and Maurice de Vlaminck's “Landscape by the Water,” as well as lithographs by Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne and Pierre Bonnard.

Notes and references

External links

*
Zakon o Hrvatskoj akademiji znanosti i umjetnosti
*
Intelektualna krema pred vratima HAZU-a

* {{Authority control Academy of Sciences and Arts Academy of Sciences and Arts 1866 establishments in Croatia Buildings and structures in Zagreb Donji grad, Zagreb National academies of sciences National academies of arts and humanities Arts in Croatia Academy of Sciences and Arts Members of the International Council for Science Arts organizations established in 1866 Scientific organizations established in 1866 1866 establishments in the Austrian Empire Romanesque Revival architecture Academy of Sciences and Arts